Defrancesco and Pull secure 800th podium for Carlin

The opening British Formula Four Championship certified by FIA race of the weekend has yielded Carlin’s 800th podium finish thanks to a strong drive from both Devlin Defrancesco and James Pull who took a double podium in second and third to secure the fantastic result. Defrancesco and Pull both enjoyed strong starts with neither looking troubled as they dealt with two safety car restarts over the course of the 20 minute race. Petru Florescu also enjoyed a solid race in seventh position while Max Fewtrell sadly ended his race early off track.

As the lights extinguished it was drama for Jamie Caroline and Luis Leeds who came together just in front of Fewtrell who brilliantly managed to avoid the incident but unfortunately lost ground. Defrancesco and Pull maintained positions in second and third while Florescu moved up to ninth as the safety car came out on track to deal with the stricken Fortec car.

Just a couple of laps later, the field could race once again however it wasn’t long before further drama occurred when Championship leader Max Fewtrell and Billy Monger made contact with the former ending his race well off track leading to the safety car being required once again. Waiting to pick up the pieces, Florescu moved nicely up to seventh position as a result.

For the second time, the race restarted with Defrancesco keeping up pace with race leader Sennan Fielding as the Canadian looked for a way to steal the lead. Just behind, Pull continued on in third position while Florescu remained in seventh.

Over the final few laps Defrancesco continued to push hard in an attempt to take the lead however Fielding remained at the head of the field as the disrupted race came to an end. With the chequered flag waving it was Defrancesco who clinched second position with Pull just behind in third – the double podium finish brings Carlin’s total podium count to an impressive 800. Florescu took the flag in a strong seventh position.

Defrancesco said, “Sennan has been quick here all weekend and we need to push to get ahead of him for the remaining races this weekend. Having him qualify on pole this morning was the real difference today because it is quite difficult to overtake but between James and I we’ve taken the 800th podium for the team which is a real achievement. Getting on the podium is also the perfect way to start the second half of the season and we intend to continue on like this."

Pull added, “There wasn’t really much happening in that race because it was only five or six laps of racing and the rest behind the safety car but it’s great points nonetheless for third place and we’re third in the championship. I was trying to catch up with Devlin ahead but it’s really hard to overtake around here so that wasn’t a possibility today. I’m pleased with the points and it’s great that between us we secured the 800th podium for the team."

The second race of the weekend will start this afternoon at 17.15 UK time with Petru Florescu lining up on the front row.